WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.140 Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the daily bible reading experience. 00:00:03.257 --> 00:00:04.427 Day 200 and 7 00:00:05.203 --> 00:00:09.573 He was very old, eighty years of age, and very wealthy. 00:00:10.983 --> 00:00:15.253 He was the one who had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim. 00:00:16.523 --> 00:00:20.773 Come across with me and live in Jerusalem, the king said to Barzillai. 00:00:21.483 --> 00:00:22.813 I will take care of you there. 00:00:23.813 --> 00:00:25.463 No, he replied. 00:00:26.303 --> 00:00:29.403 I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem. 00:00:30.143 --> 00:00:34.443 I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. 00:00:35.093 --> 00:00:40.203 Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. 00:00:41.073 --> 00:00:43.513 I would only be a burden to my Lord the King. 00:00:44.473 --> 00:00:48.493 Just to go across the Jordan River with the King is all the honor I need. 00:00:49.213 --> 00:00:52.913 Then let me return again to die in my own town, where my 00:00:52.913 --> 00:00:54.383 father and mother are buried. 00:00:55.353 --> 00:00:58.533 But here is your servant, my son, Kim Ham. 00:00:59.243 --> 00:01:03.013 Let him go with my lord, the king, and receive whatever you want to give him. 00:01:04.123 --> 00:01:05.963 Good, the king agreed. 00:01:06.263 --> 00:01:11.103 Kim Ham will go with me, and I will help him in any way you would like, and 00:01:11.103 --> 00:01:13.163 I will do for you anything you want. 00:01:14.303 --> 00:01:16.983 So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. 00:01:17.973 --> 00:01:21.743 After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai 00:01:21.753 --> 00:01:23.233 returned to his own home. 00:01:24.243 --> 00:01:28.513 The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. 00:01:29.403 --> 00:01:32.223 All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel 00:01:32.263 --> 00:01:33.983 escorted the king on his way. 00:01:35.283 --> 00:01:39.633 But all the men of Israel complained to the king, The men of Judah stole 00:01:39.653 --> 00:01:43.943 the king and didn't give us the honor of helping take you, your household, 00:01:44.133 --> 00:01:45.853 and all your men across the Jordan. 00:01:46.943 --> 00:01:51.553 The men of Judah replied, The king is one of our own kinsmen. 00:01:52.053 --> 00:01:53.723 Why should this make you angry? 00:01:54.213 --> 00:02:00.333 We haven't eaten any of the king's food or received any special favors, but there are 00:02:00.333 --> 00:02:03.103 ten tribes in Israel, the others replied. 00:02:03.383 --> 00:02:06.833 So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. 00:02:07.383 --> 00:02:10.213 What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? 00:02:10.853 --> 00:02:14.383 Weren't we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again? 00:02:15.523 --> 00:02:19.953 The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even 00:02:19.953 --> 00:02:21.683 more harshly than the men of Israel. 00:02:23.133 --> 00:02:26.903 There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bikri, 00:02:27.273 --> 00:02:29.183 a man from the tribe of Benjamin. 00:02:29.983 --> 00:02:35.733 Sheba blew a ram's horn and began to chant, Down with the dynasty of David. 00:02:36.063 --> 00:02:38.783 We have no interest in the son of Jesse. 00:02:39.293 --> 00:02:43.133 Come on, you men of Israel, back to your homes. 00:02:44.293 --> 00:02:49.003 So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bikri. 00:02:50.243 --> 00:02:53.353 But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from 00:02:53.353 --> 00:02:55.113 the Jordan River to Jerusalem. 00:02:56.173 --> 00:03:00.953 When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines 00:03:00.963 --> 00:03:04.443 he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. 00:03:05.163 --> 00:03:10.253 Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them, so each of 00:03:10.253 --> 00:03:12.433 them lived like a widow until she died. 00:03:13.673 --> 00:03:18.533 Then the king told Amasa, mobilize the army of Judah within three 00:03:18.533 --> 00:03:21.083 days and report back at that time. 00:03:21.893 --> 00:03:24.083 So Amasa went out to notify Judah. 00:03:24.553 --> 00:03:27.073 But it took him longer than the time he had been given. 00:03:27.893 --> 00:03:32.413 Then David said to Abishai, Sheba son of Bichri is going to 00:03:32.413 --> 00:03:34.113 hurt us more than Absalom did. 00:03:34.693 --> 00:03:39.373 Quick, take my troops and chase after him, before he gets to a fortified 00:03:39.393 --> 00:03:40.773 town where we can't reach him. 00:03:41.963 --> 00:03:45.973 So Abishai and Joab, together with the king's bodyguard and 00:03:45.983 --> 00:03:49.913 all the mighty warriors, set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. 00:03:50.708 --> 00:03:54.488 As they arrived at the Great Stone in Gibeon, Emesa met them. 00:03:55.128 --> 00:03:59.108 Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. 00:03:59.988 --> 00:04:04.458 As he stepped forward to greet Emesa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath. 00:04:05.378 --> 00:04:06.918 How are you, my cousin? 00:04:07.198 --> 00:04:11.248 Joab said, and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. 00:04:12.188 --> 00:04:16.698 Amasa didn't notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him 00:04:16.698 --> 00:04:20.538 in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. 00:04:21.368 --> 00:04:25.228 Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. 00:04:26.028 --> 00:04:30.778 Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba. 00:04:31.698 --> 00:04:38.028 One of Joab's young men shouted to Amasa's troops, If you are for Joab and David. 00:04:38.393 --> 00:04:40.043 Come and follow Joab. 00:04:41.103 --> 00:04:45.953 But Amasa lay in his blood in the middle of the road, and Joab's men saw that 00:04:45.963 --> 00:04:48.013 everyone was stopping to stare at him. 00:04:48.823 --> 00:04:52.313 So he pulled him off the road into a field and threw a cloak over him. 00:04:53.063 --> 00:04:56.853 With Amasa's body out of the way, everyone went on with Joab 00:04:56.883 --> 00:04:59.023 to capture Sheba son of Bichri. 00:05:00.273 --> 00:05:04.833 Meanwhile, Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel and eventually 00:05:04.833 --> 00:05:07.333 came to the town of Abel Bethmeica. 00:05:08.208 --> 00:05:12.368 All the members of his own clan, the Bicrites, assembled for battle 00:05:12.368 --> 00:05:13.928 and followed him into the town. 00:05:14.798 --> 00:05:18.458 When Joab's forces arrived, they attacked Abel Bethmeica. 00:05:19.158 --> 00:05:22.668 They built a siege ramp against the town's fortifications and 00:05:22.668 --> 00:05:24.388 began battering down the wall. 00:05:25.208 --> 00:05:27.898 But a wise woman in the town called out to Joab. 00:05:28.738 --> 00:05:30.258 Listen to me, Joab. 00:05:30.858 --> 00:05:32.848 Come over here so I can talk to you. 00:05:33.418 --> 00:05:36.678 As he approached, the woman asked, Are you Joab? 00:05:37.568 --> 00:05:38.998 I am, he replied. 00:05:39.698 --> 00:05:40.718 So she said. 00:05:41.313 --> 00:05:43.473 Listen carefully to your servant. 00:05:43.943 --> 00:05:45.373 I'm listening, he said. 00:05:46.343 --> 00:05:51.713 Then she continued, There used to be a saying, If you want to settle an 00:05:51.723 --> 00:05:54.913 argument, ask advice at the town of Abel. 00:05:56.013 --> 00:05:59.243 I am one who is peace loving and faithful in Israel. 00:05:59.693 --> 00:06:02.463 But you are destroying an important town in Israel. 00:06:02.983 --> 00:06:05.753 Why do you want to devour what belongs to the Lord? 00:06:06.773 --> 00:06:12.823 And Joab replied, Believe me, I don't want to devour or destroy your town. 00:06:13.003 --> 00:06:14.143 That's not my purpose. 00:06:14.773 --> 00:06:19.613 All I want is a man named Sheba son of Bichri from the hill country of Ephraim, 00:06:20.003 --> 00:06:21.963 who has revolted against King David. 00:06:22.663 --> 00:06:26.853 If you hand over this one man to me, I will leave the town in peace. 00:06:28.133 --> 00:06:29.973 All right, the woman replied. 00:06:30.783 --> 00:06:32.853 We will throw his head over the wall to you. 00:06:34.173 --> 00:06:37.023 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice. 00:06:37.448 --> 00:06:40.478 And they cut off Sheba's head and threw it out to Joab. 00:06:41.118 --> 00:06:44.428 So he blew the ram's horn and called his troops back from the attack. 00:06:45.078 --> 00:06:49.428 They all returned to their homes, and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. 00:06:50.938 --> 00:06:53.968 Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. 00:06:54.998 --> 00:06:58.598 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was captain of the king's bodyguard. 00:06:59.378 --> 00:07:01.848 Adoniram was in charge of forced labor. 00:07:02.588 --> 00:07:05.708 Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilad, was the royal historian. 00:07:06.568 --> 00:07:08.278 Sheba was the court secretary. 00:07:08.998 --> 00:07:11.308 Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. 00:07:11.723 --> 00:07:16.223 And Ira, a descendant of Jeor, was David's personal priest. 00:07:18.243 --> 00:07:22.113 There was a famine during David's reign that lasted for three years, 00:07:22.533 --> 00:07:24.283 so David asked the Lord about it. 00:07:25.003 --> 00:07:29.683 And the Lord said, The famine has come because Saul and his family are 00:07:29.683 --> 00:07:31.733 guilty of murdering the Gibeonites. 00:07:32.723 --> 00:07:34.693 So the king summoned the Gibeonites. 00:07:35.323 --> 00:07:37.963 They were not part of Israel, but were all that was left of 00:07:37.963 --> 00:07:39.363 the nation of the Amorites. 00:07:40.303 --> 00:07:45.633 The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel 00:07:45.633 --> 00:07:47.983 and Judah, had tried to wipe them out. 00:07:48.853 --> 00:07:51.673 David asked them, What can I do for you? 00:07:52.333 --> 00:07:55.833 How can I make amends so that you will bless the Lord's people again? 00:07:56.753 --> 00:08:01.583 Well, money can't settle this matter between us and the family of Saul. 00:08:01.773 --> 00:08:06.983 The Gibeonites replied, Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel. 00:08:08.073 --> 00:08:09.263 What can I do then? 00:08:09.463 --> 00:08:10.273 David asked. 00:08:11.133 --> 00:08:13.173 Just tell me, and I will do it for you. 00:08:14.273 --> 00:08:20.543 Then they replied, It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any 00:08:20.543 --> 00:08:22.753 place at all in the territory of Israel. 00:08:23.763 --> 00:08:27.413 So let seven of Saul's sons be handed over to us, and we will 00:08:27.413 --> 00:08:31.263 execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord. 00:08:32.493 --> 00:08:33.933 All right, the king said. 00:08:34.553 --> 00:08:35.303 I will do it. 00:08:36.593 --> 00:08:40.913 The king spared Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, who was Saul's grandson, 00:08:41.203 --> 00:08:44.493 because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord. 00:08:45.003 --> 00:08:49.593 But he gave them Saul's two sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose 00:08:49.593 --> 00:08:51.863 mother was Rizpah, daughter of Eiyah. 00:08:52.693 --> 00:08:57.033 He also gave them the five sons of Saul's daughter, Merab, the wife of 00:08:57.043 --> 00:08:59.663 Adriel, son of Barzillai, from Meholah. 00:09:00.618 --> 00:09:04.198 The men of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the Lord. 00:09:04.838 --> 00:09:08.838 So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest. 00:09:10.098 --> 00:09:13.538 Then Rizpah, daughter of Ayah, the mother of two of the men, 00:09:13.848 --> 00:09:17.598 spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. 00:09:18.298 --> 00:09:21.998 She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day. 00:09:22.313 --> 00:09:24.963 And stopped wild animals from eating them at night. 00:09:25.763 --> 00:09:30.483 When David learned what Rizpah, Saul's concubine, had done, he went to the 00:09:30.483 --> 00:09:35.003 people of Jabesh Gilead and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. 00:09:36.233 --> 00:09:41.098 When the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, The people 00:09:41.098 --> 00:09:45.058 of Jabesh Gilead stole their bodies from the public square of Beth Sham, 00:09:45.688 --> 00:09:47.418 where the Philistines had hung them. 00:09:47.938 --> 00:09:52.558 So David obtained the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of 00:09:52.558 --> 00:09:54.758 the men the Gibeonites had executed. 00:09:55.858 --> 00:09:59.058 Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of 00:09:59.058 --> 00:10:03.548 Kish, Saul's father, at the town of Zila in the land of Benjamin. 00:10:04.348 --> 00:10:07.328 After that, God ended the famine in the land. 00:10:09.278 --> 00:10:12.128 This concludes today's Immerse Reading experience. 00:10:12.268 --> 00:10:13.448 Thank you for joining us.